Takeaways from Heat’s win over Magic in Butler’s return and a career game for Yurtseven
The short-handed Miami Heat just keeps winning.
Playing without three starters in Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker but buoyed by the return of Jimmy Butler, the Heat (21-13) earned a 93-83 win over the even more short-handed Orlando Magic (7-27) on Sunday afternoon at FTX Arena.
The Heat has won seven of its past nine games despite missing multiple starters during this entire stretch.
“It is hard to do, but we have some hoopers and guys that just compete at a very high level and not scared of anybody on any given night,” Butler said of the Heat’s success while playing without key pieces. “It has been fun to watch guys gain confidence, get more and more comfortable.”
The first half was rough for both teams, as Miami entered halftime ahead 42-39 despite shooting only 37.8 percent from the field and 2 of 16 on threes in the first two quarters.
But the Heat pulled away in the third quarter behind 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range in the period. Miami led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter and entered the fourth with a 12-point advantage.
The Magic was never able to make a run to get back into the game in the final period, as the Heat’s lead grew to as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter.
The Magic’s offense struggled, scoring only 83 points on 43.1 percent shooting from the field and 10-of-32 (31.2 percent) shooting on threes while committing 19 turnovers.
In his return from a tail bone contusion that forced him to miss the previous eight games, Butler finished with 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals in 35 minutes.
The Heat will close its four-game homestand on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards. Miami is 3-0 during the homestand.
Here are five takeaways from the Heat’s win over the Magic:
Butler returned and his presence was felt immediately.
Not only did Butler miss the previous eight games, but he also sat out 12 of the previous 13 games because of his tail bone injury.
During that 13-game stretch, the Heat averaged the fewest free-throw attempts in the NBA at 16.2 per game.
Before Butler bruised his tail bone on a hard fall during a Nov. 27 win over the Chicago Bulls, the Heat ranked third in the NBA with 22.1 free-throw attempts per game.
Miami finished with only 18 free throws on Sunday, but Butler’s impact was felt immediately in this area. He drew multiple shooting fouls to finish 7 of 9 from the foul line against the Magic.
“It’s just great to have that kind of threat again to be able to put pressure on the rim, which we’ve been able to do,” coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about Butler’s return. “But also able to get to the free-throw line, which he does as well as anybody in this league.”
Butler entered averaging the third-most free throws in the NBA with 8.3 per game this season behind only Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (10.3 per game) and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (10.1).
The Heat was also simply much better with Butler on the court. Miami outscored Orlando by 16 points and posted an offensive rating of 116.7 points scored per 100 possessions during Butler’s minutes.
While Butler was on the bench, the Heat was outscored by six points and only scored 64 points per 100 possessions on Sunday.
“You see how he just changes our offensive menu,” Spoelstra said. “We didn’t even shoot it great tonight. That part is to be expected because we have a lot of moving parts. But our offensive game can get very settled and organized and coherent when Jimmy is in the game, when you need it to be.”
But even with Butler back, the Heat was still forced to use its 11th different starting lineup of the season.
That’s because three starters were still out Sunday in Adebayo (thumb surgery), Lowry (COVID-19 protocols) and Tucker (lower left leg nerve inflammation). Dewayne Dedmon, who started the previous 12 games in place of the injured Adebayo, also missed his first game after spraining his left knee in Thursday’s win over the Detroit Pistons.
With those four starting options out, the Heat began Sunday’s game with a lineup of Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, Butler and Omer Yurtseven. This group had not played together this season before Sunday.
Vincent and Strus each scored 13 points, and Vincent also finished with eight assists. Robinson totaled six points on 2-of-8 shooting on threes.
The Heat’s bench rotation included Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, Udonis Haslem and Marcus Garrett.
Herro was ejected with 29.2 seconds left in the third quarter after he picked up his second technical of the game for arguing a call. He finished with a season-low two points but dished out eight assists in 19 minutes.
Along with missing Adebayo, Lowry, Tucker and Dedmon, the Heat was also without Markieff Morris (whiplash) and Victor Oladipo (right knee injury recovery).
That left the Heat with 11 available players on Sunday.
With Adebayo and Dedmon both out, the Heat’s frontcourt rotation included a rookie making his first start and a 41-year-old veteran.
Yurtseven finished with career-highs in points (16), rebounds (15) and minutes (33) in his first NBA start. By the end of the first half, he already had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“The opportunity means everything and I’m grateful for it,” Yurtseven said. “They kept me ready, too. The rebounding drills with [Haslem] and [assistant coach Malik Allen], being at practice early for pre-practice, everything on the court and off the court, it all pays off at the end. I was ready to step up when I was needed.”
While starting was new for Yurtseven, he has received consistent playing time for the past month because of the Heat’s injury issues. He has played in 14 straight games and has logged double-digit minutes in seven straight games.
Minutes aren’t new for Haslem either. He has totaled the second-most minutes in Heat history during his 19 NBA seasons — only behind Dwyane Wade.
But playing this much at this stage of his career is new for Haslem. He played in his third straight game on Sunday for the first time since December 2017.
Haslem again contributed solid minutes, recording eight points and five rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.
During a 6:34 minute stint that began in the first quarter and spilled into the second quarter, Haslem scored six points and grabbed two rebounds.
“We need these minutes right now,” Spoelstra said. “With Dedmon and Bam out, I think it’s like a perfect thing right now of toggling between Omer and UD because he’s able to play the bulk of the minutes, but his mentor can guide him throughout the game and play those other minutes. They were both really impactful tonight.”
The Heat’s other frontcourt option, KZ Okpala, did not play Sunday.
The Heat could have to rely on the Yurtseven-Haslem rotation at center for a few weeks with Adebayo not expected back until mid-January and Dedmon set to miss one to two weeks. The eventual return of Tucker and Morris would also help bolster Miami’s frontcourt.
Martin made his return Sunday and played well after missing time because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. But the Heat’s COVID-19 issues aren’t done.
Along with Lowry missing his first game after entering protocols on Saturday, Heat assistant coach Caron Butler and head athletic trainer Jay Sabol were not with the team for Sunday’s contest because they also entered protocols.
Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn watched the game on an iPad from his car in the FTX Arena parking garage as he waited for the result of his COVID-19 test.
“There’s a human side of it. It is weird,” Spoelstra said. “CQ was in the garage watching on a laptop waiting to get cleared. He has three negative tests, he feels fully healthy. Same thing with our strength coaches and they’re doing push-up contests of how many they can do in 30 minutes. They all feel fully healthy and it comes down to a test sometimes. I think that makes every single one of us anxious when we have to take that test, particularly when we feel healthy.”
Enhanced COVID-19 testing began Sunday and will last through Jan. 8. Players will be tested on game days and practice days except for those who received their booster shot 14-plus days earlier or recently recovered from the virus, and coaches and team staff will also need to be tested on game days and practice days during this two-week period.
In Martin’s return from protocols, he finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from deep and five rebounds. Martin entered protocols on Dec. 11 and missed seven games after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Magic was even more short-handed than the Heat.
Orlando, which entered with the NBA’s second-worst record, ruled out 13 players for Sunday’s game in Miami because of a combination of COVID-19 and injury issues.
The Magic has six players currently in health and safety protocols — Mo Bamba, Ignas Brazdeikis, BJ Johnson, Mychal Mulder, Chuma Okeke and Terrence Ross. Orlando was also without Moritz Wagner because he’s reconditioning after missing time due to protocols, and Michael Carter-Williams, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, E’Twaun Moore, Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs because of injuries.
This story was originally published December 26, 2021 at 5:54 PM.
